A Bend In the Road
by October Sky
Summary: The raft's sailed, but things don't go as planned, and Jack has to race against time to save Kate before it's too late.
1. Default Chapter

A Bend In the Road

Chapter One

NOTE ON THE SERIES: This fic is two of two parts of a 'finale', as I'll call it, of a series I've had on here for a while called 'Fated'. It begins with Whatever the Case May Be and the order is listed in my bio, though I have to update it with the new incoming fics. Really all you need to read is my version of "Hearts and Minds" and know that Jack knows about Sawyer's past(or some of that anyway). I decided I liked that plot. You'll also need to read the last four..unless you want me to give you a long summary of what happened. I think it's four- the last two about Jack, anyway. And, oh yeah, Claire's still pregnant in my fic.

Disclaimer: I'll only give one disclaimer, unless I use a particular song or quote. Lost belongs to J.J. and co. at ABC. A Bend In the Road is a book by Nicholas Sparks.

Summary: Life after the raft sails off doesn't suit too well with Jack, but it' all good when the six castaways return- or so thought. Now Jack finds himself racing against time to save another, which is hard when the only person there to keep you san is, well..Sawyer.

(Space)

A man of forty-two stumbled around in the jungle, his head bobbing down and up as he struggled to remain awake. His head was bleeding and he felt dizzy as he pulled away some brush that blocked his few of the cause of the noise of crashing waves nearby. At first he saw nothing, but as he looked to his right, he was certain that he had dreamt the entire journey he had been taken from days. Twenty plus people were spread out across the beach, tanning and reading, building fires, talking, and laughing. Yeah, it had to be a dream, because somehow, he recognized some of them..

(Space)

Jack leaned against his cave wall for support, placing his hand firmly up to it, trying to maintain his balance as well as his mind. Last night seemed like a distant blur in a galaxy far, far away, and he was determined now that there was no way that it actually happened. Any moment now, Kate would come running in, complaining that she had heard from the cavers that he had once again gotten no sleep, and maybe along with that that Walt had scraped his knee again while attempting to climb a tree. But Walt was no longer here and neither was Kate, and while fewer castaways should've eased his worry, it did anything but.

"Jack?" A voice asked with a knock against the stone wall.

Turning, Jack saw Locke standing at the entrance, looking at Jack with obvious concern.

"Yeah John?" Jack said, clearing his throat as casually as he could.

"Why don't you come outside with me?" Locke offered. "Go on a hunt."

"Don't you have Boone for that?" Jack asked, wondering why Locke was so willing to let Jack come along with him all of a sudden.

And then he realized that that had been the case all day. Shannon had volunteered to take over Sun's garden, with help from Claire, and had asked Jack if he wanted to come help. Charlie had then said that gardening was a woman's thing and had offered Jack a game of golf with him and Hurley. Jack had thanked them for asking, but had turned down every offer.

"Boone hasn't been feeling up to doing much lately," Locke explained, "and with his knee, I'm surprised you even suggested it."

Nodding, Jack realized that he should've seen this coming. Last night after the raft had sailed, Sayid had led him to the caves where Boone confessed to killing the survivor, whose name was Marcell, but he never caught the last name. Truthfully, Jack hadn't really been paying attention. Afterwards, he checked Boone's knee to find that Locke was a pretty good doctor himself, redressed it, and told Boone that all he had left to do was to take it easy while it healed for a few days, and come get him if it began swelling again.

"What do you say?" Locke said, swiftly taking a knife out of a shaft and gracefully flipping it over, offering it to Jack.

Knowing he had no other choice, Jack accepted the knife, and followed Locke out of the cave.

(Space)

Jack's arms faded into the same plaid he had been wearing for two days. His face was pale, lined with faded bruise lines and small scars that stood out for miles against his ghastly skin. Though Shannon had donated a spare mirror to the caves, Jack hadn't looked at himself in it yet, partly in fear of what he'd see.

"Yo, Jack," Hurley said from where he sat playing backgammon with himself, "long time no-"

One look from Jack told Hurley what kind of state he was, in and Hurley immediately shut up after a, "woah- dude". Jack felt himself walk through space, his arms lifting heavily with his feet each step as he felt dozens of eyes watching him as they entered the jungle.

"We're not going hunting, are we?" Jack asked ten minutes into the hike.

"How'd you guess?" Locke said, as though he had just been waiting for Jack to say just that.

"Because we're heading towards the beach," Jack said just as they stepped on the first grains of sand, "I take this path every night."

"Not last night," Locke pointed out.

"Are you stalking me now?" Jack said, amused at how worried everyone was about him when he thought there was no reason to be- when he didn't want it.

"Come on, let's sit down."

(Space)

Jack stared out to sea as he had done oh so many times at that exact spot, except this time, it had seemed so unreal. As he sat there, he _knew_ he was sitting there, and he_ knew_ there was a man sitting beside him, but Jack didn't want to believe it. It was a feeling he was unfamiliar with- thinking, being aware of things.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Locke asked, breaking Jack away from his thoughts.

"Um..sure.." Jack said.

"Are you married?"

"What?" Jack said, startled.

"Just a question," Locke said quickly, "you don't have to-"

"No, no," Jack said, shaking his head, "it's fine. I was married."

"Was?"

"We divorced," Jack explained, "she had an affair, got herself pregnant, and left me with nothing but a note and an empty house."

"Sorry to hear that," Locke said sincerely, not sure what to say after hearing a story like that.

"It's okay," Jack said and let out a dry chuckle, "she wasn't right for me."

They sat in silence for the next few minutes, and Jack realized that though he had only coped himself up for a day, he had to admit the fresh air was a good change from the dusty caves, and hoped that the sun could turn his skin the least bit darker. He couldn't stand people coming up to him time after time, asking him if he was sick.

"Why did you ask?" Jack said suddenly, the question bothering him.

"Nothing, I just saw you at the airport with some woman," Locke said, "I'm guessing she wasn't on the plane?"

"No," Jack said, shaking his head, "she was catching a flight to Europe. We haven't talked in awhile."

"And your father?" Locke continued. "Was he on the plane?"

"What?" Jack said, the question catching him off guard.

"They found your father's body," Locke said, looking out to the ocean, "was he on the plane?"

"Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"My father died in Sydney," Jack said, in a quiet tone, hating to have to repeat the story again, "he used to be a chief of surgeon, until I lost him his job."

"How'd you do that?" Locke asked curiously, looking at Jack.

"My father was a drunk," Jack went on, "he'd been drinking for years, but this year it was worse. My mother showed up a year ago after being gone for years, I hadn't seen her since I was young- four maybe. Anyway, one day my father came in drunk to work and another member of our team warned me, so I got into the OR before him, but I was to late. The husband of the woman who died sued, and i ended up turning my father in. And he lost his job." Jack sighed drastically. "And that's my story."

"It's a long one," Locke commented.

"What I don't understand," Jack said, taking the opportunity to continue, "is why I'm here- why I'm still here." Jack turned to Locke, looking for answers. "Why did I survive that crash?"

"You know, I remember you from that first day," Locke said, recalling, "I woke up, didn't know where I was, and when I stood up, I see this man, running out of the jungle like he knew exactly what was going around. And for the next thirty minutes he just runs around- running around saving everybody's life, even when they didn't really need it."

Jack snorted, picturing that in his mind.

"I must've looked like an idiot," said Jack.

"No," Locke said, and looked at him, "I didn't think so."

Jack stared at him, confused for a moment, before realizing that was a compliment.

"This island does brilliant things," Locke went on.

"The only brilliant thing I've seen it do is crash a plane and leave forty-eight survivors," Jack cut in under his breath, before realizing that Locke had heard him.

"And why do you suppose it was we all survived that crashed?" Locke asked.

Jack was looking at him, wondering if Locke knew more than he was saying when he heard the frantic shouts coming from nearby:

"Jack! Jack!"

Smiling, Locke turned and looked at Jack.

"Looks like your needed."

Jack nodded and stood up, tearing off into the jungle.

(Space)

Thinking the voices had come from the beach, Jack took that route, but stopped shortly when he reached the sand, and rubbed his eyes, thinking that he was hallucinating again. Sawyer was stumbling in the shallow tied, struggling to find his way towards land. He was coughing rough, haggard coughs, and tripping over each step. Jack ran up to him, and caught Sawyer's arm just before he fell.

"What happened?" Jack demanded.

Not being able to make out an answer, Sawyer looked up at Jack, who took a step back at the site of Sawyer's face. He had a large gash over his left eye, and blood was oozing out of it, flowing downwards over his twitching eye. Sawyer looked as though he could correspond with anything Jack was saying, but Jack didn't care as he grabbed his shoulders, shaking him.

"What happened?" Jack repeated desperately.

"The raft-" was all Sawyer was able to get out before another round of coughs escaped from his throats.

Jack dropped his arms in horror, and looked out to sea where a single body floated on the surface. The next thing he knew, Jack was diving, fully clothed, into the ocean, swimming like mad towards the body. He stopped before it, and his breath was caught in his windpipe when he realized who it was.

"Kate-" Jack said softly, horrified.

Kate was even worse than Sawyer. Her face was supporting a number of gashes, including one that had formed right where her dark brown hair met the skin of her forehead, and the entire left side of her face was covered with blood, dripping down to her neck and dyeing the waters below them red. Managing to snap himself out of it, Jack wrapped Kate's limp arm around his shoulder, not bothering to check for a pulse, and swam back towards sea. When he got there, he lay Kate down in the sand, and while he checked for a pulse, Sawyer was finally regaining control of his breath, and his coughs were becoming less and less rasp. Jack looked around for someone else to help him, and spotted Sayid sitting with Shannon in their tent, laughing at some joke.

"Sayid!" Jack shouted as loud as he could, catching Sayid's attention.

Sayid ran towards Jack and stopped, maybe thinking that he was hallucinating too.

"What happened?" Sayid asked, looking from Kate to Sawyer.

"I don't know," Jack said, shaking his head, "but I need you to help me carry her to the caves, and Sawyer-"

He received no acknowledge of having spoken from Sawyer, and Jack looked up to see Sawyer's eyes rolling back in forth, in and out of conscious.

"Sawyer!" Jack said louder and Sawyer snapped back to life. "Do you have anything left at the beach?"

"I think-" Sawyer said hoarsely, not even sure what the question was.

"Great," Jack said, "I need you to go and get me all the achohol you can find, along with some towels, and a new pair of shoes."

Both Sawyer and Sayid looked down at Jack, wondering if they had heard right.

"Go!" Jack yelled when Sawyer didn't move, and Sawyer ran as well as he could, following the order.

Sighing, Jack drew his sleeve across his wet face and looked up at Sayid,

"Grab her feet," Jack ordered, "and be careful."

Sayid nodded and did so, and with his help, Jack began carrying Kate to the caves, praying he wasn't too late.

Author's Note: Okay, I don't think I'm doing flashbacks this fic because I don't know how much longer they're going to be on the island. I'm going to let it sneak up on ya. Thanks for all the reviews from last fic, and hope you guys came back!

Next up:

Sayid expresses Shannon's concern for Boone, but Jack doesn't have time to worry about that as kate continued to remain unconscious. Meanwhile, the beach goers find themselves having to deal with the shock of the raft, and a new survivor. Guess who.

Until next time..

October Sky


	2. Chapter Two

A Bend In the Road

Chapter Two

Disclaimer: "Wish You Were Here" was written by Roger Waters and performed by Pink Floyd. I don't own it.

Sayid watched Jack as he carefully poured some alcohol onto one of Kate's wounds. Kate didn't even flinch at the burning sensation as someone awake would of, instead, just lay still, sleeping. Jack had long since given up on CPR, almost out of breath himself, and knowing no one would be able to save him if it went to far, Jack began working on cleaning Kate's wounds, praying that she'd wake sometime in the process. Now Sayid was leaning back against the cave wall, and decided that the time was now or never to speak up.

"Shannon's worried about Boone," Sayid said, a little loud, knowing that jack had probably completely forgotten that he was even there.

"Yeah?" Jack said, kicking his soaking wet shoes out of the way as he made his way around the makeshift cot in some new ones Sawyer had managed to find at the beach "Well so am I, but Boone can take care of himself-" Jack wiped some of the moister off his face with the sleeve of his shirt and motioned to Kate, "she can't."

"He went hunting with Locke," Sayid continued, feeling that Jack needed to know this.

"I thought I told him to stay off that knee," Jack said, frustrated that Boone wouldn't listen to him.

"I don't think they're going hunting," Sayid said.

"What makes you think that?" Jack said, really thinking 'why can't you just leave me alone?'

"They've been out there for a month and haven't caught a thing," Sayid explained.

"Then why don't you follow them?" Jack suggested. "See what their up to?"

"We've tried," Sayid sighed, "but each time there's obstacles. It's like the jungle doesn't want us to find out."

Jack looked at him.

"That's insane," he said, and truly believing it, and then shaking his head, "well Boone can make his decisions on his own, but right now-" he stared down helplessly at Kate, "I need to find out what happened."

He stood in silence for a moment, until realizing that Sayid was still there.

"Is Michael around?" Jack asked, for the first time remembering that there were others on the raft- others that might be in need of his help.

"He is," Sayid said, "but I don't think you'd want to talk to him right now."

"Why not?" Jack asked, confused.

"Let's just say he's not in the best of moods," Sayid said, and Jack got the point.

It was the second raft they had built, and after all the time and effort, with whatever happened to the raft, Jack wouldn't of been the happiest person on earth either.

"What about Sun?" Jack asked next.

"She's taking care of Jin," Sayid explained.

"Damn," Jack said under his breath, "well who's left?"

"What about Sawyer?" Sayid suggested.

Jack thought about it, and seeing that it was the last resort, nodded.

"Yeah," he said, "go get Sawyer."

(Space)

Fifteen minutes later Sawyer was leaning against the cave wall in the same spot Sayid had been in before. He let his head rest against the rock, exhausted and still feeling woozy.

"Here," Jack said, handing Sawyer a small hand towel.

Sawyer took it, and looked at Jack, wondering what it was for. Was Jack actually expecting him to help? A few cuts he might be able to tend, but this- there was no way. He couldn't even bring himself to look at Kate.

"It's for your head," Jack said, pointing above his own eye, where on Sawyer's own face, his wound was.

Cautiously, Sawyer touched the wound, and hissed in pain, cursing, when he saw that it had begun bleeding again. Jack left him alone for a few minutes, going back to Kate, until he finally remembered what Sawyer was there for.

"You ready to tell me what happened?" Jack asked, and Sawyer nodded, looking away as Jack cleaned a wound on Kate's leg.

"The raft started making these funny noises," Sawyer began weakly.

"Noises?"

"I can't explain it," Sawyer stated truthfully, "and then it started tossing on its own. Nobody knew what to do, and eventually- it just turned over. I tried to grab Kate but-" he shook his head slightly- "I couldn't make it. I slammed into one side and she went the other way, unfortuently for her the luggage went with her. Next thing I know I'm washed up on shore of the same damn island I was trying to escape from."

Jack stared at Kate, hating himself, knowing how scared she must've been and he wasn't there to comfort her, or that he wasn't there to tell them what to do. Where was he? Drowning himself in self-pity because life couldn't go the way he wanted it to. And Jack cursed himself for it.

"I'm going to..uh..go check the other caves for more antibiotics," Jack said, "can you watch over her?"

Not answering right away, Sawyer turned his head and glanced over at Kate, grimacing at the sight.

"Yeah," he said finally, still feeling guilty for not being able to save Kate on the raft.

He had just grabbed her hand when the raft took a final plunge, jerking Kate away from him, and Sawyer could still hear the screams that would haunt him for night onward as the raft went down, taking its castaways with it.

(Space)

As Jack entered a spare cave, which he hadn't really needed to go to, he just needed to clear his mind for a moment, knowing that mental issues would do no good to Kate, the soft tune of acoustic filled the air, and it took Jack a moment to recognize the song as the introduction to "Wish You Were Here", a song by Pink Floyd he remembered from being a kid.

"Hey Charlie?" Jack said, entering the caves. "Do you mind-"

He stopped when he realized that it wasn't Charlie playing the guitar, but Alex, playing with a natural grace, planting each finger into the strings, creating black marks on the calluses of her fingers from lack of practicing, or rather, being able to practice.

"Oh, sorry," Jack said quickly and Alex replied with a quick: 'It's all right.'

Jack began sorting through some extra medicine he had hidden in the cave for no particular reason at all.

"Does Charlie know you're using his guitar?" He asked while leafing through the tiny pill capsules, looking for any type of pain killers, his mind set on Kate waking up.

"I didn't know it was his," Alex said truthfully, and began pulling the guitar strap off of her shoulders.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you used it," Jack said, though he knew that was most likely a lie.

"I know how people are with their guitars," Alex said with a small chuckle, carefully placing the guitar back into its case "he'll mind."

When she made no effort towards moving, just standing there with her arms crossed, Jack spoke up.

"So do you play often?" Jack asked, thankful that for once he could have a conversation that wasn't about him, the island, or medical difficulties.

"You could say that," Alex nodded, "I live in New York with my uncle- my boyfriend moved out there with me. I guess you could say we're pretty serious-" Jack had to admit that he found himself amused, talking to a sixteen year old about a serious 'love life', "we had this record deal thing."

"Oh," Jack said, feeling guilty for laughing at her story, "that is serious."

"Yeah," Alex nodded, "he sung, I mostly play the piano- I couldn't match a pitch if my life depended on it-" she shook her head, "but none of that mattered now."

Even after finishing her story, alex still remained standing there, reminding Jack of the patients he used to see stopping by the front desk, embarrassed to admit whatever problem it was they had.

"Is- something wrong?" Jack asked, finding himself hoping that she was all right, and not only for her benefit, but for his.

Jack didn't think he could last another medical emergency. Hell, he didn't even know if he was going to be able to get through this one.

"That day, by the beach," Alex said quietly, "when we were going to look for whats-her-name-"

"Danielle?"

"Yeah," Alex said, and continued after a short pause, "did you- see anything?"

Jack tried to remember back to that day, and found that it came to him in a blur, with much bigger events following after, but knew that if something major had happened, he would've been able to recall it.

"No," Jack said finally, "I don't think so. Why?"

"No reason," Alex lied, and then watched Jack for a few more moments before speaking up again, "that was Kate's case, wasn't it?"

Jack spun around so fast he could feel the wind rip through his shirt as he did so, stinging his face.

"What?" He said nervously, telling himself not to give Kate away so easily.

"I know about her," Alex admitted quietly, and had to clear a lump out of her throat before continuing, "Kate. I've seen her before-"

He hadn't known what had come over him, but suddenly, Jack wasn't talking to a sixteen year old girl anymore. He was talking to Sawyer, and this was just another case of one-liners, but this one really stung. Jack grabbed Alex by her shoulders, gripping her tightly in fear that she would escape and he would never get the answers he thought he deserved. Alex looked up at him after a moment, in confusing and her own fear, wondering what was going on.

"Where did you see her?" Jack demanded, shaking Alex without realizing it. "What did she do?"

Alex didn't answer, trying to get over the shock of what was happening. She just looked down at the ground, biting her lip to keep from calling out, knowing whatever had come through Jack was just temporary, and she didn't want to cause a scene. Had it been Sawyer instead of Jack, however, she would've been screaming a long time ago.

"What did she do?" Jack said louder, his breath blowing hot against Alex's hair.

"She shot me," Alex said finally, in one breath, and kicked Jack lightly in the shins, just to get him off of her so she could regain control of herself. "Sorry," she added quietly after doing so.

"No," Jack said, shaking his head, recovering from his own shock of what he had just done.

He had attacked a girl. Well, not really attacked, but the only thing he hadn't done was strike her. He had held her against her will, and shook her. Didn't that count as abuse? Wasn't one of the first medical commitments 'do no harm'? Jack had wanted to apologize, say 'I'm sorry' and pray that she would be mature enough to forgive and forget, but who could blame her? Instead, he hadn't been able to say a single one of those things.

"She shot you?" Jack repeated, a little hurt.

Even though Kate had told him all she did concerning her faith, Jack knew that was only an accident. He had been able to eventually forgive her, thinking that the marshall was only after her for the sake of revenge, but now, Jack wasn't sure what to think.

"That night when I waited your table at the bar," Alex said quietly, "these men came in dressed in black after you left, and they began robbing the place. One man attacked the bar tender, and somebody yelled for them to stop. I moved out of the way but the next thing I remembered was waking up with my shoulder all numb and somebody asking me if I was okay."

Alex stopped and looked up, making sure she had Jack's attention, and after staring at him for a few moments, she did.

"That was Kate," she added softly.

Jack was paralyzed, unable to move, and catching his balance just as he feel against the wall. Alex looked at him in concern, momentarily forgetting what he had just done.

"Don't worry about what happened," she said, figuring that could be one less thing for Jack to worry about, "I understand..it wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have said anything."

"No," Jack said shaking his head, "you knew, you had every right to."

For some reason, just the thought that she knew made Jack even madder, and he slammed his fist against the cave wall, cursing as he stormed out of that cave, and back into the other, where he found Sawyer sitting on an extra airplane chair, staring at Kate, though the sound of Jack entering drove him quickly away from his thoughts.

"Has she moved?" Jack asked, and was about to repeat the question when Sawyer finally answered.

"No," Sawyer replied just as quietly as Alex had been.

Sawyer began to stand up to give Jack back the seat, but Jack waved for him to sit back down.

"Stay there, "Jack ordered, knowing Sawyer moving around would just confused him.

Bending down, Jack checked Kate's neck and found a small pulse, but as he traced his finger back down her arm, she found a small wound where blood had just recently begun flowing. He grabbed a piece of cloth from nearby, and reached down to clean Kate's new wound when he found that- he couldn't.

He was frozen. He couldn't move, couldn't think. He had fallen under pressure when he needed his mind the most. And if he didn't watch out, Jack would fail. Again.

"Dammit!" Jack yelled, throwing the cloth down, causing Sawyer's head to shoot back up from where it was rested in his hands.

Collapsing against the cave wall, Jack held his own head in his heads.

"Dammit," Jack repeated, and turned back to Kate, "I can't do it."

"What do you mean you can't do it?" Sawyer said in disbelief.

"I can't save her," Jack said, feeling himself fall under the walls he had recently rebuilt in the past day.

"What do you mean you can't save her?" Sawyer said, standing up.

"I can't do it," Jack said, throwing his arms down, "I give up. It's up to her now."

"We don't even know if she's alive!" Sawyer yelled. "How can it be up to her?"

"She's going to have to pull through," Jack said, and seated himself down, sinking against the walls of the caves until he hit the cracks in the floor below, "I can't do it. I can't take it anymore."

"You can't take it anymore?" Sawyer repeated, feeling anger come on. "You're the doctor, you have to take it! People come to you with the least important problems, and sometimes you get a death thrown in your face, but _you have to take it_! It's what you do!"

"I'll fail," Jack muttered, "I'll fail and I won't be able to handle it."

"You won't fail, an even if you did, you've got enough people that care about you here to carry on a weekly therapy group," Sawyer said, fading at the memory of Kate joking about just that.

What if he was never able to hear her laugh again? Never see her smile? Sawyer realized that he'd be left just as much as Jack, and he wasn't even sure if he'd be able to stand it. Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to be out of there, out of that caves, and just run until there was no where else to go. But he couldn't do that now. Not until he was certain that Kate at least had a chance.

"No," Jack mumbled, massaging the skin above his eyes, "my father was right- I'm a failure. I'm not meant to be a leader."

Sawyer sighed drastically.

"He doesn't think that you're a failure," he said.

"What?" Jack said, confused, looking up at Sawyer who sighed again, and sat on the edge of the cot that Kate wasn't laid on.

"I lied about what he said at the bar," Sawyer admitted.

"You did what?"

"He said that he was proud of you," Sawyer sighed, "he wished that he had the courage he said that you have. He said that you were at home, thinking that he hated you, when all he really wanted to do was apologize."

"Then why didn't he?" Jack said, trying to look for the wrong in this, and the fact that he was having this conversation with Sawyer, of all people.

"He said he was weak," Sawyer shrugged.

Jack sat in silence, thinking about it, and then almost laughed when he realized what was wrong with the story.

"He was drunk, wasn't he?"

"What?" Sawyer said, thinking for sure he had cleared things up.

"I knew it," Jack snorted, "that had always been his problem."

"Yeah, well he's dead now, isn't he?" Sawyer said, rather forcefully, even for him.

Jack looked down at being reminded this, and Sawyer quickly added "sorry".

"No," Jack said, realizing that it was time he'd face this truth, "you know what? You're right. He's dead and there's nothing I can do about him or the past except accept that, and I should just go ahead and do that because it's pretty much smacked me in the face, and I just have to deal with that-"

"If you say so-"

"So I guess that was my second chance, huh?" Jack said, the light bulb going off in his head. "I don't have to fail. Not if I don't want to."

He didn't care how cheesy it sounded, or even if he was saying it in front of Sawyer, because as big of a jerk as Sawyer was, he was just too plain lazy to go and spread something around.

"So are you ready to save her?" Sawyer said finally, nodding towards Kate.

"Yeah," Jack nodded, but as he tried to stand, his leg was numb in protest where Alex had kicked him, "but help me stand up first."

Sawyer smirked, and reached, down, grabbing Jack's hand when a voice startled them both.

"Well that's a site I never thought I'd live to see."

Jack and Sawyer let go abruptly, and looked away before both of them were immediately at Kate's side. Sawyer gazed at her and all Jack could do was smile as she tried her best to talk again.

"If I knew it would bring you two together like that," Kate continued weekly, "I might just knock myself out every day."

"How much did you hear?" Jack said, though finding himself not that worried about it.

"Not much," Kate admitted, "just something about someone falling or failing.."

"It was falling," Sawyer interrupted quickly.

Jack glanced towards him, wondering why Sawyer was sticking up for him, but figured to make the best of it, and went along with his story.

"It was nothing," Jack lied.

"How are the others?" Kate asked, making shifting her weight as Jack dabbed at the wound on her shoulder.

Kate winced at the touch of the liquid.

"Sorry," Jack said pulling the cloth away.

"No, go ahead," Kate said, and smiled the best she could, "you're the doctor."

"What do you want me to do?" Sawyer said from beside Jack.

Jack thought about it, determined to take it from here on his own.

"Go tell the others that she's okay," Jack said, and looked down at Kate, who had fallen asleep, her chest raising up and down in a normal pace, and he knew that this time, he was right. He did it. He had pulled through, and so had she.

"Tell them that she'll be all right."

Author's Note: Yay! Kate's up! I'm seriously not sure how much longer this fic will be, or rather, I'm not sure how much longer they'll be on the island. Could be off next chapter, could be a few chapters from now. I'll let it sneak up on you:) Sorry if it swerved in and out of character there, or was out of character completely, but, hey, somebody had to get Jack's thoughts straight! For those of you who didn't read my fic "Outlaws", in mine, Sawyer told Jack about the meeting with his father, but he told Jack that his father really talked about the son he couldn't stand, not the son he was proud of. I hope that clears things up. Thanks for all the reviews!

Crazyhorsegirl88: Yes, thus ends the tale(tail..hehe) of Jack, Sarah, and the bunny. But I'll give you a hint: in the sequel, a certain doctor's ex-wife drops in with a surprise- and this one doesn't have four legs.

Next Up, on "A Bend In the Road":

(beware, there's change that some, or all of this will change, I'm still planning it)

Just when things seem to be okay again, Sawyer goes missing, and Charlie thinks he's gone insane at the sight of the new survivor, of whom they all know. More questions and quest arise just as a loud roar from above threatens to tear them apart, but in a good way:)

Thanks again and hope you enjoyed it!

Until next time..

October Sky


	3. Chapter Three

A Bend In the Road

Chapter Three

Author's Note: If I didn't mention this before, then I'm incredibly sorry, but this story(and series) revolves around SPOILERS for future eps. Sorry for any inconvience!

Disclaimer: I don't own the _Jungle Book_. Not sure who does though..yes, I am ashamed..

Author's Note: I really wanted 'flirty Jack' when he first talks to Kate again, so sorry if he's a little out of character! Jack needs a little time off from himself..

The world spun as Sawyer walked from the beach back to the caves. Or at least, he thought he was on the path from the beach to the caves. One wrong turn had led him down a path he didn't know, and one stumbled sent his head spinning into space, and he wasn't even sure which way was forward or backward. Maybe, he decided, it wasn't such a good idea for him to be tramping through the forest with a cut over his eyes that clearly thought it was okay to begging bleeding off and on momentarily. Because of all this mishap, Sawyer hadn't seen a small trigger planted into the ground, and a loud boom rang through the air. _Surely someone heard that.._

(Space)

Jack looked down at Kate in pride and protection, staring at her, noticing every feature from the curls in her hair to a tiny miniscule scar on her ankle, too light to have been from the crash, neither the plane crash nor the boat crash. Kate needed to take some antibiotics he had found for her, but she looked so peaceful in her sleep, Jack couldn't bring himself to wake her. But he didn't have to worry about that as Kate stirred, moaning slightly as she shielded her eyes from the light that wasn't there, probably a habit she had developed from months of living on the beach.

"Here, drink this slowly," Jack said, holding the water bottle.

He should've seen it coming as Kate tried to lift herself up to swallow, but failed, crashing back down onto the cot she was lying on. The only solution was for Jack to do it for her, and he lift the bottle to her mouth, tilting it the slightest, allowing the liquid to soothe her chapped lips. Though Jack would've preferred that she had drunk a little more, just to avoid dehydration, but Kate laid her head back, groaning in protest.

"How do you feel?" Jack asked, just to have something to say.

"Like someone just opened the door to hell and threw me in," Kate said, voice sore, "I can't feel my legs-"

"They're just sore," Jack assured her, "your circulation's down."

"And how is my circulation going to get back up," Kate inquired playfully.

"Well if you were in a hospital I'd say physical therapy," Jack said, and was interrupted by Kate.

"But here?"

"How about a walk on the beach?" Jack said with a smile.

"I'd like that," Kate said, and gave Jack her hand to pull her up, but felt herself fall back as her back gave out, "but maybe tomorrow."

(Space)

"Jack!" Hurley shouted, running as fast as he could to Jack, who was walking out of the jungle.

Jack looked up. Kate had fought and fought to stay awake, but her body had given away, so Jack decided it would probably be a good idea to go check on the other survivors from the raft. He didn't have to get far, when he noticed that half of the camp left at the beach was crowded around a figure who looked like he was in the position of a comedian who just forgot his punch line.

"There's something I've gotta tell you," Hurley said, panting for breath "the pilot-"

He began swinging his arms towards the man sitting down in the mist of the circle, and Jack's eyes grew wild as he recognized him as the pilot of flight 815- the pilot he saw get eaten. Jack mentally kicked himself.

_Of course.._Jack realized.._the moment the monster 'killed' Sayid, he should've remembered the pilot._

Why didn't he? Why didn't Kate? But Jack didn't ponder it long as he rushed up to where the man was sitting.

(Space)

A little less than five minutes later, Jack reintroduced himself(the pilot claimed he had never seen Jack in his life) and requested that he let Jack recheck him for injuries. Borrowing a pen from somebody, Jack was now performing the infamous eye test, and set the pen down, assuring the pilot that he was perfectly fine, and to take it easy. It didn't take Charlie long to pull Jack aside, looking very much confused.

"What the bloody hell's going on?" Charlie asked, as if thinking that Jack was trying to pull some prank on him.

"I don't know," Jack lied, "but it's something greater than I've ever had to understand before.."

"Yeah?" Charlie said. "Well that's all rainbows and roses for you, because I just met the same guy I saw get eaten- _eaten_ Jack!"

"Has he said anything?" Jack said, sighing, knowing Charlie would never understand it.

"What?" Charlie said, and blinked. "Oh, about where the phoenix has been for the last five thousand years? Get this- he says that he was unconscious. For two months! Who's unconscious for that long?"

"It's possible," Jack said, speaking on personal experience, remembering coma patients from medical school.

"But how do you explain something like that?" Charlie said, like a child who wondered why storks lived for the purpose of dropping wrapped blankets onto the ground.

"I don't know," Jack lied again, and looked around at the beach camp.

Everyone seemed okay, Sun, Jin, and Michael were crowded around the shade of a tree, with Walt just a few feet from him, rubbing Vincent(who looked all right for a dog who had survived a boat crash). The skin just below Walt's leg looked red from the distance, and Jack knew that he'd have to remember to ask about that later. But now his concern turned towards something that stood out from the start.

"Where's Sawyer?" Jack asked, seeing no sign of him anywhere, and what was left of Sawyer's camp, abandoned.

"What?" Charlie asked, looking to where Jack was behind him. "You didn't see him? Sayid sent him to go find you a half an hour ago."

Without meaning to, Jack met eyes with Sayid, and walked over to him.

"How's Kate-"

"Which way did Sawyer go?" Jack interrupted.

Sayid stopped, as if trying to decide if Jack was joking or not.

"Why?" Sayid asked slowly.

"Which way did he go?" Jack repeated flatly.

Pointing, Sayid showed Jack a second trail that led to the beach.

"I'm going after him," Jack said, making up his mind.

"What about Kate?" Sayid reminded him, and Jack's face showed the slightest bit of remorse before Sayid voluntarily said, "I'll go after him."

"What?" Jack said, to busy coming up with a plan to remember that Sayid was even there.

"You worry about Kate," Sayid said confidently, "I'll go find Sawyer."

Jack was about to protest when he realized that Sayid was right, Kate was and should be his first priority. Assuming he had Jack approval, Sayid took off down the path.

(Space)

Sayid began to see how Sawyer was able to get lost so easily, and the head injuring had to of helped. Though he had a good idea, Sayid wasn't exactly sure where he was. The paths in this area all seemed to form together in one loop, and it was agonizing to the brain to apprehend. He chose a trail to the left, but stopped at the sound of voices.

"But Jack said you'd be okay, right?" A worried voice that Sayid soon to realize to be Shannon, was saying.

Deciding it would be best to leave the conversation where it was, and not get himself in a situation he didn't need to be in, Sayid turned to change paths, but the next statement changed his mind:

"Jack has better things to do then to deal with my mental health problems."

The voice, he recognized, was Boone's, but what 'mental' problems could he have?

"What do you want from me then?" Shannon was asking sarcastically. "Want me to step into the _Jungle Book_ and go find your friend and tell him that you can't come to work today?"

"Actually I've already talked to Locke," Boone said, his voice changing slyly. "And you hated the _Jungle Book_."

In the scene, Shannon's eyes narrowed heavily.

"That was the point," Shannon said, and Boone redeemed himself with a shrug.

"I just hope that you're remembering through all of this that the reason I'm stuck here was because I was saving your skin- again," Boone said coldly.

"Yeah?" Shannon replied. "Well if you weren't so damn protective-"

"Maybe if you had a life-"

"Maybe if _you_ had control over your life-!"

Sayid heard nothing else as he listened closely for any sign of movement, where really Boone was busy studying a rolly polly crawling over a stick.

"I'm sorry," Shannon said in a hushed voice.

"Yeah," Boone nodded, "yeah, you should be. Look, what I wanted was-"

"I've got to go," Shannon said quickly.

"No!" Boone said desperately. "Shannon-"

That was when Sayid noticed that if he moved this one single tree limp the lightest, he would be able to get a clear view of Shannon and Boone. He moved towards it as they continued their conversation.

"What I wanted was-"

Sayid pulled the branch back at the wrong moment. Just then, Boone leaned forward, caressing Shannon's cheek into his, and letting their lips brush against each other. Shannon accepted it the first few moments, getting the dirty feeling that if she truly missed her old life, this would be what she should want.

If only Sayid would've stayed a few seconds longer, he would've witnessed what little sense Shannon had come back to her, and pull away, slapping Boone with a cracking snap that Sayid failed to hear, to confused to understand anything.

Author's Note: I'm soo sorry this took longer than usual to get out! I decided to stop it here so I'd be sure I'd be able to get a chapter out tonight. I've been too tired to get on late now, but it's almost the weekend, and I hope to have this story done tomorrow night, or Saturday. Thanks so much for your reviews!

Dark-angel206: You're probably confused because as stated first chapter, this is the last story in a series of, I think, twelve, may be wrong on that though. It picks up right where the last left off. There's a reason in this chapter that Boone doesn't have control over his life, and it's all explained before hand. The series order is in my bio, if you want to read it and be unconfussed.

Coming up next in "A Bend In the Road":

The next chapter is all about the fine art of chatting. Informative chats, romantic chats, angsty chats, and they all come to an end when the big roaring thing from the sky saves them all. Just in time, right? We can only hope!

And I have two future stories(besides the sequel) planned that won't be apart of this series. I don't know if I'm going to do these, but please, no idea stealing! Lol!

From the Water-

Ethan didn't come up from the water. In fact, Ethan didn't kill Scot at all. Maybe it was the fact that Steve heard Scot being called by his name one to many times, or maybe that that 'buisness trip' wasn't very buisness like at all..Scot/Steve centric, non-slash!

The Greater Good-

The pressures on as Sayid sets out to kill Locke, and Kate tries to prevent Jack from doing so, but her plan fails when her case is stolen, and when Jack begins pointing fingers, that can't mean good for the both of them. _Maybe_ Sayid-centric.

Sorry for the wait and thanks again for the reviews!

Until next time..

October Sky


	4. Chapter Four

A Bend In the Road

Chapter Four

Groaning, Sawyer tried to lift his head off the ground, and as he did, he brought traces of leaves and stems with him, and he knew his face had to be muddy, along with the rest of him. The song of a gun cocking stopped the movement.

"Stay down," a woman's slurred voice ordered.

_No problem,_ Sawyer though, knowing there'd be know way he'd be able to get up even if he was forced. His head felt heavy on his shoulders, and the area above his eye felt cold, and he wondered if that was because his head was bleeding again. He heard the attacker set the gun, uncocking it. Sawyer winced, expecting his life to end any moment.

"Drop the gun," said a dry voice.

_Great,_ Sawyer thought, _and now Aladin's flying in on his flying carpet to save the town.._

"Drop the gun, Danielle," Sayid repeated, staring at Danielle, trying to send the message through eyes, but she didn't receive it, as he and Sawyer felt themselves fading into darkness one after the other.

(Space)

Kate smiled as she spotted Jack on the beach, tying his shoes in the early morning light, his foot propped up on a piece of wreckage. She snuck up behind him, carefully placing her cold hands over his eyes.

"Guess who," she said mischievously.

Her heart lifted as she saw the corners of Jack's mouth turn up in a smile, something rarely seen from him these days.

"I thought I told you to take it easy today," Jack said, though it was clear he wasn't disappointed in seeing her.

"Yeah?" Kate said. "Well this makes up for all the times I told you the same thing."

Kate took the time to sit down beside Jack, but realized she had nothing to say. Lucky for her, Jack covered for her.

"So are we still on for tonight?"

She had to laugh at how formal Jack sounded.

"Yeah," Kate nodded, "but Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't be a dork," Kate said, standing up.

"What?" Jack said, lifting his head up and looking at her.

"This isn't a date," Kate said, rolling her eyes, "you don't have to play dress up or anything."

Jack smirked.

"Then don't say anything when I come shirtless wearing surfer's shorts," he said sarcastically.

"You could do that," Kate said playfully, thinking that that wouldn't be such a bad idea at all.

"You won't leave me stood up, will you?" Jack challenged.

"I won't find you crying later, will I?" Kate teased.

Jack chuckled a little, though couldn't really say anything, remembering how former dates turned out.

"I've got to get back to um..yeah," Kate said, trailing off, "just remember- not a date."

"Yeah," Jack repeated to himself under his breath, "not a date."

(Space)

Sawyer's head heavily lifted off his chest as he tried to make sense of where he was. He tried to move, but realized he couldn't, and trying to jerk his arm around resulted in a grunt of pain behind him, coming from Sayid.

"You're finally awake," Sayid said, calmly as can be.

Sawyer was beginning to think that Sayid was the only person in the world who could grunt calmly, and the only person who could get bored while being held captive.

"And this is so easy for you," Sawyer spat.

"She's not as smart as she appears to be," Sayid said quietly, as if not wanting someone else to hear.

"She just kidnapped two men with nothin' but that rifle of hers," Sawyer reminded him, "yeah, I'd say she's pretty damn smart!" He struggled against the type rope that held his wrist. "So Macgyver, how're you going to get out of this one?"

"Do you feel the loose rope right at your fingertips?"

He could sense that Sayid was smiling at his faults without even seeing it. Figuring out the rest himself, Sawyer began working his way through the rope, soon untying himself and Sayid. But as they stood up, they both noticed something odd: Danielle was nowhere to be seen. Obvious footprints led into opposite paths, and the site had been scraped clean.

"Think she's still around?" Sawyer whispered, now knowing enough about kidnappings and such that you shouldn't go around yelling at the scene.

"No," Sayid said in a hoarse whisper.

"Good," Sawyer said, turning, let's go.

Sayid sighed and did the same, but they didn't get far before they were facing gun point again. They took a step back, and found Danielle glaring at them.

"Look," Sawyer said calmly, "we just want to talk to you. We ain't gonna hurt you."

Just the suggestion of it received a glare from Sayid, but surprisingly, Danielle lowered her gun, and sat down.

"All right," she sighed, and looked up at them, "what do you want?"

"We want to know more about you," Sayid said, sitting down, and nodding to Sawyer to do the same, "your..science team..and your daughter- Alex."

Danielle's hand flew to her gun, which Sawyer snapped from her. Sayid sighed, knowing how difficult that just made things. But Danielle seemed so transfixed with what Sayid had just said, she completely ignored the act.

"How'd you know she's my daughter?" Danielle asked, her eyes dancing around in fire.

"You said that Alex was your child," Sayid said slowly.

"Child," Danielle pointed out, "I never said..daughter."

Sayid sighed.

"We think we found your daughter.

Danielle's eyes lit up.

"How?"

"We could tell you," Sayid said gently, "but we don't have the time. But if you come with us."

Danielle looked at him, as if trying to find an excuse to prove that Sayid was lying, but couldn't.

"All right," Danielle nodded, "I'll come with you."

Sayid nodded and helped her stand up.

"You sure do have a way with women," Sawyer muttered sarcastically, and Sayid just smirked, wishing it had been this easy during his last meeting with Danielle.

(Space)

It was around two in the afternoon when Kate was walking on the beach. When she had woken up for the second time(rehab made her feel so lazy) she had been able to sneak away. The dusty, claustrophobic atmosphere of the caves was getting into her head and sinuses, and it was driving Kate insane. But now on the beach, with the bright son bathing down her neck, Kate had never realized that one of the reasons she hadn't moved to the caves was because, well, she'd miss the beach. Hiding away in dark shadows all day might have suited all right for Jack, but definitely not for her, and clearly not Sawyer either, who seemed to be having no problem hiding in broad daylight.

"So I guess it really was a three hour tour after all, huh?" Kate joked as she approached Sawyer, who lay rested against a pane of wreckage.

"Yeah, but I think Gilligan's retired," Sawyer said, nodding over to Michael, who said, kneeled, his head hanging in depress.

"Who can blame him?" Kate asked, flopping down beside Sawyer in the sand.

He glared at her, annoyed, and threw his book down.

"Did you want something?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to talk about it-"

"Talk about what?" Sawyer demanded, though it was obvious that he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"You know what?" Kate said, standing back up and dusting off her pants. "I have tried and tried to help you, but if your just going to react like that- fine. I give up." Her hands flew to the air. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Sawyer just glared up to her in disbelief.

"You don't have to be the next Boo Radley, you know-"

"Who?" Sawyer asked, confused.

"I thought you were a book worm," said Kate, eyebrow raised.

"Not all the time."

"Well, he was this guy who hid in-" she shook her head, "that's not important. Just forget it."

"No really," Sawyer said, standing up and facing her, "I want to know."

Kate looked down.

"You don't."

She looked back up at him, and they stood in a stand off before Kate whipped around, and left.

(Space)

Jack reached up to adjust the pack on his shoulder, when he remembered that he didn't have one. Kate had made Jack promised that if he was going on this hike with her that he'd bring nothing, and after assuring him that she'd bring two bottles of water from the beach, Jack had agreed. After all, how many things could go wrong on one walk down the beach? He began to second guess that when he heard some rustling from above, but relaxed when he saw that it was only Sawyer, stocking up on some freshly ripped fruit.

"I can see you've picked up on some of Kate's skills," Jack joked.

"I can see you haven't," Sawyer said, pulling an apple loose from the branch and looking back down at Jack, "from what I've seen, she hasn't kissed you yet."

To Jack's surprise, Sawyer threw down the apple he had just picked, and Jack caught it with ease before letting it hit the ground.

"Got you a spare one," Sawyer said, and began making his way back down the tree, "speaking of your girl friend, I talked to her today."

"Oh yeah?" Jack said.

He hadn't even known Kate had been out of the caves that day, and from what he heard, Sawyer hadn't been there either.

"What did she have to say?"

"Do you have any idea who the hell Boo Radley was?" Sawyer said, and then jumped down from the tree, planting his feet on the ground.

"No clue," Jack said, shaking his head.

"Good," Sawyer said, "that'll give you something to talk about on your date."

"It's not a date," said Jack, sounding more like he was still reassuring himself.

"Say what you want."

"How'd you know anyway?" Jack asked, beginning to wonder if Kate had let everyone on the beach know that they weren't going to be there that night.

"You're dressed like a dork," Sawyer commented.

"These are the same clothes I've been wearing every day," Jack said, thinking that this had been the most awkward conversation he had ever had with Sawyer.

"Exactly," Sawyer said, and shook his head, "wouldn't want to miss the show tonight, though."

"What show?"

"A reunion," Sawyer said, wondering why Jack didn't know.

"Between who?"

"Danielle and Alex."

(Space)

"Hey, Sayid?"

Sayid had been sitting a fire he had made for him and Danielle, but she had gone off with Sawyer to the beach, so he guessed he appeared alone. He had agreed with Sawyer to let Sawyer do the introductions, but Sayid was going to question all three about it later. Something told him that he should be far away from this reunion.

"Can I talk to you?" Boone continued nervously, as if expecting Sayid to jump up and attack him. "I know you saw me talking to Shannon earlier."

Sayid looked at him.

"How did you know that?"

"I found your compass," Boone said, taking it out of his pocket and showing it to Sayid, "you must have dropped it when you took off."

Speechless, Sayid took it, and for the first time on the island, he felt like just another person in the crowd, like everyone else had more power over him.

"Look, I wanted to talk about what you heard," Boone set after Sayid examined the edges of the broken compass for so long, he noticed that at some point Locke had just barely scratched the surface of it.

"I'm not sure if I want an explanation," Sayid said truthfully.

"My life is more screwed up now than you or anyone else could probably ever know," Boone started, before realizing that Sayid could most likely care less about any of that, "I mean- I guess the reason it was so easy for me to kill that guy was because..I've already murdered someone before."

"What?" Sayid asked, startled.

Of all things, 'murder' wasn't on the list of things that Sayid had thought Boone capable of doing. That's why he wa so suspicious of him the first time. To him, Boone was just another rich snob- well, not snob, more like overconfident- who got on the wrong flight with the wrong group of people. He had at once thought the same about Shannon, until he realized that Shannon was only holding herself back from this set image she had upon herself. Or maybe even one Boone had set for her.

"About eight years ago I was in a car wreck," Boone explained, "I was drunk and it was raining. It was like for something in the morning. The woman and girl in the other car died."

Sayid didn't know what to say. Part of him naturally felt sorry for Boone, but the other part still wasn't sure what to think. Finally he thought of something to say.

"Does Shannon know?" He asked, curiously.

"She only found out a few weeks ago."

It was now clear to Sayid why Shannon's attitude towards Boone had changed drastically over a short period of time. Every now and then when they were on the beach, he'd catch her glancing towards the jungle, worried, though he never said anything to Shannon about it.

"You're not really Shannon's brother, are you?" Sayid asked, hoping for a negative answer that would maybe make things less confusing for him.

"No, I'm only her step brother," Sayid still glanced towards him, "our parents got married when we were kids and split up a few years later. I've barely even seen her in the last few years."

Boone paused, and placed his hands on his knees, standing up.

"I'm going to go before I make myself sound any more like a pervert," he said, leaving.

"You care about her a lot, don't you?" Sayid asked, making Boone stop before exciting the caves.

"What was that?"

"She worries about you," Sayid informed him, "maybe you should- talk to her. Without the yelling."

"Oh," Boone said, considering, "thanks."

(Space)

Purple. Blue. Pink. Gold. The sky was a blend of an unfinished painting, left alone in an unconfident artists' basement, when really it belonged in a gallery. A gallery of paintings with the exact same strokes, shades, tents. It was perfect.

"I can't believe twelve hours ago I was actually considering leaving this place," Kate said, sighing dreamily as she gazed into the sunset.

"I can't believe twelve hours ago I'd thought I'd never see you again," Jack admitted, and turned his own gaze from the sunset to Kate.

But Kate couldn't look back at him. She felt so guilty. While in the caves, Kate got Charlie to confess Jack's behavior during her absence, and her heart fell when she heard exactly what she had been afraid of.

"Jack, I'm sorry about that," Kate said, feeling the need for an apology that was a long time in coming, "I shouldn't of assumed-"

"No, I understood your reasons," Jack second guess it, "I think. But Kate, I just wanted you to know that you're not a burden to me, no matter what you think. You've helped me in more ways than you could probably image."

"Let's just hope that one of those ways doesn't come in your dirty little dream state mind," Kate teased.

"Who said it's only in dream state?"

Kate hit him playfully and Jack smiled.

"No really," Jack said after a short pause, "I just wanted to think you for everything you've done- for me."

"Well that's great and all Jack," Kate said, "really. But I was kind of wanting to talk about you."

"We are talking about me," Jack pointed out.

"No, you," Kate said, not making any since, "before the crash. Were you the same depressed, no eat, no sleep kind of guy?"

Jack nodded.

"I guess you could say that," Jack admitted, "blame it on the genes though."

"Mother's or father's?"

"Not sure," Jack shrugged, "father's probably. I hardly knew my mother, my real mother."

"Oh. Did she die?" Kate asked before immediately regretting it.

"No," Jack said, "she left."

"Oh," Kate said, "I'm sorry."

"But back to me-" Jack said, dragging out the last syllables, "I..um..went to college."

"Well that much was obvious," Kate said, bemused.

"You didn't let me finish!" Jack protested. "I went to college on an athletic scholarship."

"You?" Kate said, holding back a laugh. "So that's why you were so good at golf."

"It's all in the wrist," Jack joked, flicking his wrist out.

"So you were like the high school jock then?" Kate said, trying to picture Jack in one of those tight football uniforms before chuckling at the thought.

"No, actually I was like the nerd trying to be a jock," Jack confessed.

"So you were like one of those guys who always got their lunch money stolen every day and got beaten up afterwards?"

Jack looked down, that being one part of his embarrassing past he had hoped to have never had to bring up again.

"Oh- sorry."

There was a short pause, until Jack broke it, knowing that time was getting away from them.

"So what were you like when you were a kid?" Jack asked Kate.

"I was one of those kids who'd steal the money," Kate admitted.

"That bad huh?" Jack said, grimacing.

"Yeah," Kate said, "and I hold my head in shame."

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Well what was I supposed to do?" Kate asked. "I was seven, my dad left every few months, and I always thought it was my fault.

"But it wasn't," Jack pointed out.

"Yeah, but you know how kids are," Kate said, trailing off, leading into even more silence. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

The silence finally broke.

"Shoot."

"Why do you worry about me so much?" Kate asked, the statement truly bothering her. "I've seen caged monkeys less active than you."

"Oh, I'm a monkey now?" Jack teased, before getting back to the subject. "I don't know. I guess being over protective just comes with the job. And I mean, I care about you, and I don't know..I think I even-

Love you. No I don't. Wait..I don't know. I don't know what I think or feel. It's all too confusing and now I feel like I'm back in high school again. Except back in high school, Jack was lucky to get dates with girls have as beautiful with Kate.

"Jack?" Kate asked, in slight concern, looking at him.

Jack opened his mouth to reply when he was cut off by a loud sound. An engine. The sound decreased as it shook the trees behind him, and the ocean's water crippled as the artists' painting dissolved into exhaust. Jack looked at Kate, wondering if he had just imaged that.

"Was that- a plane?"

Author's Note: Muahaha! I know, I'm so evil..and yes, it's been a while. Sorry, last night I surprised myself by falling asleep..well..last night, and not this morning. I apologize for the wait and hope this long, well, longer, chapter made up for the wait. I'm thinking of doing two chapters of leaving the island(no, Jack wasn't hallucinating), the second one being songfic, and then a chapter at a hospital in some Central America country(scurries off to find a map) and then a last chapter(maybe songfic again) at an airport in LA. Thanks for all the reviews!

Crazyhorsegirl88: (late review reply, sorry!) You're making that poor bunny go through hell, you know that?

Coming up, in the last chapters of 'Fated':

A mistake splits Jack and Kate up, while others declare truce. Offers are made all around with some tears, and the island's swept clean, leaving only the mysterious computer, which, btw, Locke forgot to turn off.

And want some more, just in case I fall asleep early again, or am not able to update? Neither Jack nor Kate show up at the airport in LA, but that's not because they ran off together, or arranged to meet together. And think Jack's depression was bad a day away from Kate? Try two weeks.

Hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for all the reviews!

October Sky


	5. Chapter Five

A Bend In the Road

Chapter Five

Author's Note: Sorry about Kate's horrible real name. I suck at names.

"Go back to the caves," Jack instructed to Kate as he stood up, heading towards the uproar that had immediately started after the plane had landed.

"What?" Kate said. "No, I won't!"

"Kate!" Jack said, more loudly and forcefully then he meant to, spinning around and facing her. "You have to go back to the caves. Stay there, and don't come out until I come and get you."

He choked on every word, leaving Kate to stare at him in disbelief.

"What, do you think you'll be able to sneak me on the plane?" She exclaimed. "We both knew that someday this would happen-"

"I'm not letting it happen," Jack said confidently, "just- go."

Picking up his pace, Jack gave a fair distance between him and Kate as he moved towards the beach camp, where he could already see a crowd of people standing around a huge jet liner. Sayid and Boone were rushing out of the jungle just as he reached Michael, who was trying to explain things to the pilot.

"No!" Michael was saying. "We are the survivors of flight 815! We've been here for two months!"

"Um..hi," Jack greeted, stepping in for Michael, shaking hands with the pilot. "I'm Jack-"

"Shepard?" The pilot finished for him, reading from a small book he was holding. "Lives in LA. Spinal surgeon. On the plane to bring your father back to Sydney, am I corrected?"

Jack's head went in a spin as he wondered just how much the authorities knew about the flight.

"My father's dead but, yeah..that's me," Jack said finally, "look, what's going on? Are we getting out of here? Because there are still some more castaways-"

"More?" The pilot said, eyebrow raised.

Jack sighed. So maybe they didn't know that much.

"I'm going to go find Walt," Michael whispered to Jack, giving him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder before taking off.

"Exactly how many survivors were there?" The pilot's eyes narrowed.

"Were?" Jack said, thinking back. "Forty-eight. Now.."

He thought back through everything that had happened- the marshall, the guy with the leg, Steve- Scott- whatever his name was, and then finding out the pilot was alive.

"Forty-six," Jack calculated, "..I think."

"Good," the pilot said, closing the notebook, "we'll get some names, check for injuries, check locations, and try to get everybody out by nightfall."

Since it was nearly five o'clock, Jack knew that was pushing it, but didn't say anything. The pilot was about to speak up again, when he heard a voice approach him from behind.

"Jack!" Kate cried. "What's going-" she stopped when she spotted two police men coming up to her, "-on," she finished in a whisper.

"Kate?" Jack said as Kate's voice faltered, realizing her mistake.

"Allison Ryan?" A cop asked.

Kate grimaced. She hated her name.

"Who?" Jack asked, looking from Kate to the pilot.

"Hey, I couldn't find Walt," Michael said, coming back, and stopping as Kate quickly looked down. "What's going on?"

"Allison Ryan," the cop finish, jerking Kate's arm around, and pulling out a pair of handcuffs, "you're under arrest."

"What?" Michael cried, clueless.

Jack wanted to fight back. He really did. All he wanted right now was to give the cop in front of him a good punch, and take off with Kate, deep into the island, where no one could ever disturb them again. But he couldn't move. All he could do was stare at Kate- Allison- whatever her name was- and know that she had lied to him again.

"You're under arrest," the cop repeated, "for armed robbery and the murder of five men."

"What?" Was all Michael could say, turning to Jack. "Did you know about this?"

Jack didn't answer him. The scene was getting all to much. Just knowing that Kate was willing to lie to him for so long..he couldn't stand being there any more. Meeting Kate's eyes one last time, Jack turned.

"Jack!" Kate called desperately as Jack turned, blocking out the voices naming Kate's rights.

He didn't say anything. Heading to the caves as the crowd stared, confused, at the entire scene, Jack knew that rescue was the last thing he was worried about right now.

(Space)

Shannon watched as Sayid began packing some things of his interest, including the French maps and notes. Who knew? Maybe he was planning on taking them to some history professor and getting them analyzed properly. She had overheard Sayid telling Jack what had happened with the French woman, but other than that, she hadn't heard from him. He had gone out of his way to ignore her, and she didn't like it one bit. And now that rescue had miraculously come, she knew that this may be her last chance. Ever.

"Sayid?" Shannon asked.

Though she spoke quietly, Sayid still jumped, but in the end, turned, and faced her calmly.

"Guess this is pretty wild, huh?" Shannon said lightly. "I mean, yesterday I was thinking we'd be here for ten years, and now, it looks like I'll be back home tomorrow-"

_Wherever that is,_ she couldn't help but to think. Because it certainty wasn't back in Australia with Brian, and it wasn't back in LA with Boone, and she was twenty-two. No way was she going to go crawling back home with mom. She realized then that Sayid wasn't answering her, only offering a small smile.

"Look," Shannon said, shaking herself out of it, "they say that after this, when we go back home, that none of this will mean anything, that it'll just become another memory."

She took a step closer to Sayid, putting only inches between them.

"But I want this to mean something," Shannon said softly, and this time, Sayid took her hand.

"And so do I," he agreed quietly.

He was considering kissing her when they were both cut off by nearby voices. Looking over, they saw Locke and Boone exchanging pats on the shoulder.

"I guess our relationship wasn't the only one on rocks," Sayid joked, watching Locke and Boone talk.

(Space)

"So do you think this is real?" Boone was saying. "I mean, I'm not going to wake up in a few hours, growing at four in the morning?"

Locke chuckled.

"No, I think this is as real as it gets," he said, coughing on some of the fumes from the plane's engine.

"So what do you think's going to happen to me?" Boone said, wondering himself. "I'm I going to wake up and find you trying to sneak into my apartment with one of those guns?"

Locke laughed again.

"No," he said truthfully, "I think you're going to be fine."

Boone didn't say anything. He didn't agree. For eight years he had been able to live with everything- just forget it. Well, it would always be there, but it was always just another memory. But now, now that he was forced to face it, he knew it'd be therapy and drugs all over again- well, maybe not the second part. Not if he could help it.

"Are you planning on going back to school?"

"What?" Boone said, startled.

He had never considered it. He couldn't- could he?"

"I don't know," Boone said, "I mean, there's not really much I can do."

"That's not true," Locke said, "what have you been doing out here for almost two months?"

Boone looked at him, wandering what that was supposed to mean.

"Digging up some old hatch?"

"That's one thing," Locke nodded, "that could be engineering. Construction. You could also consider wildlife-"

"I am not going to spend my life classifying birds," Boone snorted, "I mean, that might be all fun and games for you, but-"

"What would you have done if we had been stuck here for longer?" Locke pointed out.

"Not classify birds," Boone said, even more confused not.

"Probably not," Locke admitted finally.

"Really," Boone continued, "what do you think is going to happen to me- us? All of us?"

"I think we're going to be fine," Locke said, "what matters is what you think."

"Now you sound like my therapist," Boone muttered.

Locke raised an eyebrow.

"Old therapist," Boone corrected quickly, "a few years back I had this over-worried, concerned girl friend and..yeah..that didn't work out to well."

The crowd on the beach stirred up again, and both men looked over to see that some of the castaways were starting to load luggage onto the plane.

"Just promise me one thing," Locke said.

"What?"

"That you'll go back to school, and try and get your life back on track," Locke said, "and you're off the hook."

"That's all?" Boone said, remembering the murderous tone Locke took on the last time they had a similar conversation.

"And I'm an old man," Locke said, "I own this small house west of LA, along the coast. Big yard."

"Don't worry," Boone laughed, "give me a call and I'll come over."

"And who knows," Locke shrugged, "maybe after you graduate we can come back out here and investigate that hatch a little bit more."

Boone stared at him.

"Are you serious?"

Locke smiled.

"No."

"Hey! Bonehead!" Shannon called and Boone groaned at his nickname, which amused Locke. "You coming or not?"

Boone turned to where Shannon was waiting impatiently for him with Sayid.

"See you around," Boone said to Locke, who nodded as he left.

Author's Note: Okay, cheesy ending, but I really wanted to resolve the Locke/Boone thing. I just love that plot soooo much! (Hugs Boone tightly)

Boone: Help!

He's not going anywhere..in fact, I may just restart the series second season to include him and his evil plots.

In the last island chapter:

The survivors leave the island in tune to the Beatle's song "Two of Us". But before that, Sayid makes an offer to Sawyer(nowhere to add that in this chapter..well, I didn't want to..yes I did..I sound like Jack now..never mind..).

At the hospital in some foreign country that I don't know:

Claire gives birth, but Jack doesn't deliver. In fact, Jack tries to sneak back home. He doesn't get far, of course, and convinces Charlie that he'll be okay(the liar!) and escapes to LA.

And at the airport:

Reunions all around! Claire meets Charlie's family, Danielle and her brother reunite for the first time, and Sayid gets to meet Shannon's mom! Fun for everyone!

Okay, so maybe I reveal a little too much..oh well..

Thanks for the reviews! You guys are great!

October Sky


	6. Chapter Six

A Bend In the Road

Chapter Six

Disclaimer: The song in this chapter "Two of Us" was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney(I'm assuming) and performed by the Beatles. I had to changed, well, really just cut off the ending, which repeated the last verse, for times sake, and for the sake of repeats and..well..not having you bored out of your mind. I'm making no money from it, though, so I hope no body's going to send Ethan after me..(shifty eyes)

One of the things Sawyer made absolute certainty was was that he'd have nothing to take with him except for a few packs of cigarets. Unlike the others, he wanted not memory of the island except for what he carried with his pockets.

"Sawyer!"

Turning in surprise, Sawyer found Sayid walking towards him.

"I guess you heard," Sayid said.

"Yeah, and want to know somethin' good?" Sawyer said, assuming he was talking about Kate.

Reaching into the back pocket of his jeans, he brought out Kate's 'wanted' sign that he had found hanging in the airport, and handed it to Sayid, whose eyebrows rose in interest.

"You knew the entire time," Sayid said in amazement.

"Funny thing is," Sawyer said, "never found one of those with your name on it."

He through an empty bottle of alcohol into a box he had gotten from the rescue plane.

"I'm not guessing I'll have to go all the way to Iraq to get one," he joked.

Sayid handed back the picture.

"I guess you'll want to keep that," Sayid said as Sawyer folded it back up.

"What makes you think that?"

"They're allowing two of us to sit with Kate on the ride back," Sayid said.

"Three guesses who's already there," Sawyer muttered.

"Jack wanted to know if you wanted the other spot," Sayid finished.

Sawyer looked at him in surprise.

"What?"

"He says you cared about her," Sayid said.

"Did not," Sawyer protested under his breath.

Sayid shrugged.

"The plane's leaving in a half an hour," he said, "just to let you know.

Sawyer didn't say anything until he was sure that Sayid was out of eyesight. He then reached back to his pocket, and unfolded the piece of paper, wondering if maybe Jack was right..

(Insert cheesy movie montage here)

Claire laughed at Charlie, who was struggling with the zipper on Claire's bag. Finally she took it from him, but not before meeting his eyes first..

_Two of us riding nowhere_

_Spending someone's_

_Hard earned pay_

Sun was packing her stuff at the caves when she heard a knock on the wall. Looking up, she saw Jin leaning against the rocks, a red flower twirling in her hand. As she walked up to him, she wondered why it was always the flower that made everything seem all right..

_Two of us Sunday driving_

_Not arriving_

_On our way back home_

Alex, on the other hand, wasn't sure what to think about the rescue. She had just met the mother she never knew she had, and who was probably going to have custody over her in the near future. She was, of course, only sixteen.

_We're on our way home_

Deciding that maybe it wouldn't hurt to take some of the clothes she had worn home with her(even though it was weird wearing dead people's clothes) she reached down to pick up a pair of jeans laying near her stuff.

_We're on our way home_

But another hand got there first, and she found herself looking up to her mother, and she began to think that maybe, just maybe, they'd be able to work things out..

_We're going home_

Jack tried to concentrate on his task, packing up some medical supplies that he hadn't used, and may be handy to some one out there, but found himself unable to, fumbling with the pill capsules as he tried to clothes him, until he finally collapsed to the ground, sitting against the wall as he had done so many times..

_Two of us sending postcards_

_Writing letters_

_On my wall_

He'd knew there was the slightest chance that he'd get to see Kate again, even if it was through a phone line or on the other side of bars.

And back in the plane, where Kate was already seated, ready for take off, she was thinking the same thing as she felt the first tears trickle down her cheeks.

_Two of us burning matches_

_Lifting latches_

_On our way back home_

Locke checked his case of four hundred knives, swiping the last one clean as he spotted Michael and Walt walking out of the jungle. Michael looked thrilled, but he couldn't read Walt's expression, though the boy laughed anyway, just to make his father happy.

_We're on our way home_

_We're on our way home_

_We're going home_

Sawyer dug his hands deep into his pockets, looking down as he walked towards the stairwell that led to the side entrance of the plane. He didn't even bother taking one last look at the place as he boarded the plane. But nothing could stop him from looking through the windows, where he saw Kate already seated, and he lost his balance, having to grasp the rails tightly to keep himself from following.

_You and I have memories_

_Longer than the road that stretches out ahead.._

Shannon and Sayid laughed as they held hands, walking happily along the shore towards the jet liner that would lead them back to true paradise.

_Two of us wearing raincoats_

_Standing solo_

_In the sun_

But Shannon took one wrong step, and as Sayid helped her regain her balance, she caught sight of Boone watching them, alone, near the plane. He looked away, though, quickly, just as they met eyes.

_You and me chasing paper_

_Getting nowhere_

_On our way back home_

The castaways were finally boarding the flight, but for some reason, Jack couldn't bring himself to do it. Hearing the sound of impatient muttering behind him, he knew he had to face it, and drew in a deep breath, mentally counting to five as he closed his eyes, and boarded the plane.

_We're on our way home_

Charlie helped Claire up the stairs, smiling when she stopped, feeling the baby kick once more.

_We're on our way home_

But Hurley was the last one to board the flight, and probably the last one(well, maybe besides Locke) who would truly miss the island. But he knew he had to go back home, back to taking care of his mother. Though maybe now, he thought, he'd get his own place. The woman was particularly annoying at some points, and he was, after all, twenty-six. Or so he liked to tell him.

A yell from the inside of the plane distracted Hurley from his thoughts, and he stepped inside, causing the plane to move in the slightest, and reached out to close the door, giving the island one last look before he gave the top of the plane a slap, and closed the door.

_We're going home.._

Author's Note: Oh my God how much cheesier could you have gotten! Lol! Good news, this isn't the end. I'll do a little bit with them on the plane, or maybe just at the hospital, and then at the airport, and then, it's sequel time! Thanks again for the reviews!

October Sky


	7. Chapter Seven

A Bend In the Road

Chapter Seven

Author's Note: For sake of confusion, to those who don't know, I kept Boone's mom's name Rutherford.

Charlie had never been so relieved and so nervous at the same time in his life. It was hard to imagine that only a day ago, he thought he'd be stuck on an island forever. But now as his mind tuned into to the beats of a heart monitor, he knew his life was changed forever, and there was nothing he could do about it. Nor was there nothing he wanted to do about it. After Claire had given birth to a son, who she decided to name John(she said one Alex was enough for the group), he offered to fly back to Australia with her to help her settle in. They agreed to first take the plane arranged for the group back to LA to meet his brother and the family, and then take a flight back to Australia. They both had to laugh about how ironic the situation was.

"So what's the first thing you're going to do when you get home?" Sayid asked, starling Charlie.

He had completely forgotten that there were others in the room, but he was saved when he realized the question wasn't directed towards him. Sayid, Shannon, Boone, and Hurley had all stayed at the hospital to help Charlie with Claire, or rather, to calm Charlie down. Now they were all seated in Claire's room, waiting for her to wake back up.

"I don't know about you guys," Hurley said, "but I'm going to watch tv."

Boone tried to pretend like it didn't bother him when Shannon settled herself against Sayid's arm, which was around her shoulders.

"I don't think I'll remember how to work a tv," Boone said, staring at the floor to keep from glaring at Shannon.

Charlie felt all eyes go on him.

"I don't even own a tv," Charlie admitted when there was no way out of it.

He looked up, cursing the tension, and without meaning to, spotted Jack walking carelessly down the hallway, rubbing the back of his stiff neck.

"Hey guys," Charlie said, finally letting go of Claire's hand and standing up, "I'm going to go out for some air."

"See you later," Hurley said as Charlie pulled opened the door.

"Hey! Jack!" Charlie called, running after Jack, who was trying to get to the exit.

But Jack still stopped and turned, letting Charlie catch up with him.

"Listen," Charlie said, scratching his neck where a bug had bit him earlier, "after Claire wakes up-"

"Oh yeah, I heard about that," Jack said, his voice dryer than normal, "sorry I wasn't able to come-"

"Nah, nah that's okay, I understand," Charlie said, though he knew Jack had most likely been to depressed to see a birth, "anyway, the baby's fine, and after Claire wakes up, Hurley was going to take some of us to this all you can eat bar a few blocks from here before we hit the hotels. You wanna come?"

"Actually," Jack said, clearing his throat, "I'm- uh- leaving early. I want to get back to work as soon as possible so I don't risk losing the job, and the whole thing with my mom-"

"Oh, right," Charlie said, even though he had no clue what Jack was talking about.

"So..I guess I'll be going then," Jack said quietly, "um..I'll give you a call sometime. Keep in touch, you know?"

"Right," Charlie nodded, "who knows, maybe my brother will pity me and get the band bad together. You'll have to come see us sometime.

"Yeah," Jack nodded, "yeah, I will."

When Jack didn't say anything else, Charlie reached into his pocket, taking out some money.

"What's that?" Jack asked curiously as Charlie recounted it.

"Fifteen dollars," Charlie said, "it was all I could find in the wreckage. Take it."

He shoved the money into Jack's hands, and forced him to take it.

"What's this for?"

"Just a small thank you," Charlie said, "you know, sneaking out on us and all, you aren't going to be taking the credit you deserve. And anyway, it's a long flight back to La. Get you something to eat."

"I'm not going to eat off of dead people's money," Jack said, thinking of how disturbing that was.

He was one of those people who would look at an item and say: I wonder if the owner had a family. Kids. A job.

"Who said the person was dead?" Charlie said with a small chuckle.

He slapped Jack on the shoulder.

"Take care of yourself, man," Charlie said.

"Yeah, you too," Jack said, and finally pocketed the money before walking out of the hospital, throwing open the door and welcoming himself into the cool night air.

(Space)

"You are now exciting flight 481 to LA, please unbuckle your seat belts and exit carefully."

Sighs of relief were let out amongst the passengers, and Hurley leaned over to where Shannon and Sayid were sitting.

"You guys ready to do this?" Hurley asked, looking nervously out the window, spotting a small crowd in the airport lobby they'd be entering in just minutes.

"I don't know about you guys," Boone said from beside Hurley, unbuckling his Seattle, "but I don't think I've never been more ready for anything in my life."

Standing up, they grabbed their luggage from the overhead compartments, but Boone pulled Shannon back.

"Wait for me," she whispered to Sayid, who nodded, and went to way just before the entrance to the terminal.

She turned back to Boone and the two just stood there, staring at each other for the longest time. Finally she cleared her throat.

"What?" She asked, her voice a little shaky.

"What do you want to tell mom?" Boone asked, knowing that their mother as out there just waiting to jump on both of her kids the moment she saw them.

"Just.." Shannon thought about it, "tell her that everything's fine. We worked it out."

"You staying home this time?" Boone said, with a trace of hope in his voice.

Shannon smiled.

"I think you'll be stuck with me for a long time."

"Excuse me," a flight attendant said, "I'm sorry to disturb you, but we have to clear this flight to prepare for our second takeoff."

"Sorry," Boone said, and gave Shannon one last look, before walking out of the passageway, muttering a, "see ya" to Sayid, who nodded back.

Shannon watched him go, and then walked up to Sayid.

"What did he want?" Sayid asked curiously.

"Just to straightened some things out," Shannon took a deep breath when she finished, "so are you ready to meet my mom?"

"Are you sure she wont mind?" Sayid said, knowing how people viewed him in judgment.

Shannon laughed.

"Seriously?" She said. "I think she'll be so happy about seeing me, she won't even notice you."

Sayid gave a nervous chuckle, and then followed Shannon into the crowd.

(Space)

"Oh thank God!" Boone's mom cried, cheeks streaked with tears as she threw her arms around him.

"Mom!" Boone gasped in surprise as his lungs were nearly squeezed to bits. "Stop-"

"I thought you were dead!" His mom sobbed. "And it would be all my fault-"

"Mom, it's fine," Boone said desperately, "everything's okay. I'm fine now."

She let go of her son, and holding onto his arms, whispered, "I know."

That was when he spotted Shannon pulling Sayid their way. That was one reunion/introduction he did not want to witness.

"Mom, do you mind if I go ahead and pull the car around?"

"What?" Boone's mom said, and then shook herself out of it, taking her keys out of her purse. "Oh, sure, here, it's in the back lot."

Though they weighed no more than a few ounces, the keys landed in Boone's cupped hands like bricks. He lost his balance for a moment, until his mom caught him.

"Are you okay?" She asked worried, her hand flying up to his forehead. "You're burning up."

Boone felt his eyes moistened as he flushed a deep red in embarrassment, shading his pale face.

"Boone?" His mom asked, concerned. "Are you all right? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

Shaking his head hard, Boone snapped out of this. He could do this. He had to.

"I'm..I'm fine ma," he said, shaky, "I'm fine."

He bent forward, and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and walked out the door.

(Space)

Alex stumbled as she stepped into the airport, and looked around, hoping to get a glimpse of her uncle, whom she assumed was weighting for her. Sure enough, she found him standing near a costumer service desk, pacing the ground. Bag slung over her shoulder, she ran up to him, throwing her arms around his neck as he embraced her.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Sh.." said her uncle, as his pale hands and dirt stained fingernails held onto her head, "sh..it's okay."

They broke apart, and he studied his niece, as if thinking something was missing.

"I tried to call Adam," he said softly, "I must've tried his number a million times. His place was locked up. I thought maybe he'd know-"

"He didn't make it," Alex said, in a pained whisper.

"What?" Arnie said, staring at her. "Wasn't he on the plane?"

_God he doesn't know a thing_..she thought guiltily.

"We weren't on the plane," Alex said quietly.

"I don't understand.."

"I'll explain it to you later," Alex said, "but I think there's someone you should meet..well-"

She was about to say, 'reunite with' when Danielle stepped out of the crowed, and her brother's face went into shock.

"Dan- Danielle?" He choked, as she walked cautiously forward, as if not sure if this was the right family.

Finally, they just stood there, staring at each other, until finally embracing in a hug that made Alex feel like she was in the end of some really cheesy romance movie.

(Space)

"I'm so happy to meet you," Anne Rutherford expressed, shaking Sayid's hands.

"Likewise," Sayid said, relieved that she hadn't done something stupid, like call over security.

"So," Anne said, clapping her hands together, "do you need a job? I own a wedding business, you know."

"Mom!" Shannon exclaimed, rolling her eyes and turning to Sayid. "She does that to everybody."

Sayid chuckled.

"Actually, I think I have some work waiting for me," Sayid said, and Shannon couldn't help but to wonder what 'work' meant.

"Well maybe we'll be having you over for dinner soon then," Anne offered.

"I think I'd enjoy that," Sayid smiled.

Shannon tightened her grip around Sayid's back, smiling, but her grin faded as she saw Boone, frozen by the door, unable to move. Sayid must of obviously seen him as well(she felt the grip loosen a little) but didn't say anything, and she was thankful, because she didn't want to pin that kind of worry on her mom. Finally, she watched as Boone shook his head, and she couldn't help but to wonder what he was thinking as he walked out the door into the sunlight. and across the room, Sawyer acting on similar basis, walking out without saying so much as a word to anyone.

(Space)

Outside, Boone found the car parked in parallel parked to two others. He sighed, and fumbled with the keys before putting them in. Easing himself into the drivers seat, and stared at the wheel for what seemed like hours before forcing himself to start up the engine. Little did he realize, his foot was on reverse, and the next thing he knew, his head was jerking forward as a small pop exploded from the back seat. Instead of the immediate worry that someone else was hurt, or that his mom was absolutely going to freak when she saw the car, Boone found himself laughing slightly at how ironic the situation was. Unbeknownst to him, Locke was leaning against the brick alleyway out of the airport, watching Boone, doing the same thing. Locke finally shook his head, and turned, as he began walking the long journey back to his old life.

Author's Note: I think that I am the Queen of cheesy endings. How about you? Lol. Well, THE END! Yep, END END END! NO MORE! LOL..I'l be crying about this tomorrow. I should have the sequel up soon. I just wanted to think everybody for sticking with me through this. YOU GUYS ROCK! (HUGS) I LOVE ALL OF YOU and your REVIEWS! And hope that you guys come back for the sequel!

Sequel summary:

Famous Last Words:

Life seems to be great as Jack drowns himself in debt to bail Kate out of jail, until a series of unfortunate events strikes both Jack and Sawyer who, of course, blame each other. Only problem? They're both coincidentally two dozen states away.

To look forward to(hopefully!) in the sequel:

Car chases, apartments, fires, robberies, vandalism(wow..you wouldn't really look forward to those things, would you?) fights, kidnappings, more fights, bank robberies, more fights, room mates, a visit from a certain doctor's ex, a little thing that cries and has two legs(that's not a deformed bunny! Lol!), kisses, friendship, country music, jazz records, pianos, friends and lovers, and a surprisingly seduceable Kate in a closet. Question of the day: who's she with? And if that's not enough(it better be! Lol! j/k!) here's another hint for the future: someone gets shot. But he- yes, he- is not a bad guy. And the first chapter opens up songifc with Jack(more cheesiness!) with the song "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away".

Hope to see ya there! Thanks again for the reviews!

October Sky


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